Building sustainable agriculture systems that can withstand shocks like pandemics doesn’t mean only investing directly in agriculture, but in the fabric of society.
Food production is more than just providing nutritious food for a growing population. Agriculture plays a vital role in helping the world meet challenges of present and future for the preservation of society. With this year’s COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions in the fabric of everyday life were upended.
The Mosaic Company, The Mosaic Company Foundation and The Mosaic Institute in Brazil have a long history of investing in communities in ways that contribute to their vitality. That work has never been more important than during a pandemic, which is why Mosaic made wide-ranging investments to help address the most critical needs of communities during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mosaic provided over $1.5 million to local communities around the world to address immediate hunger, protection of essential workers in food production, and other critical local needs. Part of the funding provided masks to agriculture producers, farmers, and customers in China to help protect them as planting season began. Part of the funding provided personal protective equipment to rural farmers and agricultural service producers in China to help protect them as planting season began.
To continue meeting the challenges and mitigating the risks beyond the pandemic, companies must work to maximize positive impacts across society, beyond agriculture.
Mosaic explores this concept through their ESG Performance targets, which focus on people, environment, society, and company and align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here are some of the ways the company is contributing to the SDGs:
Zero hunger
- Given that 40 to 60 percent of crop yields are attributed to fertilizer products, Mosaic produced over 21 million tons of crop nutrients for farmers around the globe.
- Mosaic has invested $29 million since 2004 in support of organizations that advance global agricultural development, agricultural research and education, and hunger relief for community members in need.
Clean water and sanitation
- Mosaic invested over $21 million in water-focused actions that promote nutrient stewardship, habitat conservation, and watershed restoration since 2004.
- As part of the Villages Project in India, twelve check dams that were installed to capture and store rainwater and recharge groundwater now provide a total reservoir capacity of 47.67 million gallons. 12 check-dams have been constructed, with a total storage capacity of 47.67 million gallons.
- Mosaic used alternative source water from nine industrial partners and waste water treatment plants at a rate of 6.1 million gallons per day in 2019. These alternative volumes directly offset the company’s freshwater use.
Decent work and economic growth
- Mosaic employs over 12,000 employees in 2019 for whom wages and benefits totaled over $1.5 billion.
Responsible consumption and production
- Mining and fertilizer manufacturing are intensive endeavors. Mosaic works to minimize its negative impacts and maximize the value it delivers to diverse stakeholders around the globe.
- Mosaic recently launched 13 bold targets to address ESG performance in four focus areas.
- The company is committed to reducing its freshwater use and greenhouse gas emissions by 20% per tonne of finished product by 2025.
- In 2019, Mosaic recycled nearly 35,000 tonnes of waste from its operations.
Partnerships for the goals
- Mosaic contributed more than $12 million in food, water, and local community investments and partnerships in 2019.
